


Tent walls are probably not soundproof

by Legs (InsanityRule)



Category: Silicon Valley (TV)
Genre: First Time, M/M, i have sinned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-05
Updated: 2015-11-05
Packaged: 2018-04-30 05:37:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5152298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsanityRule/pseuds/Legs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Gavin doubts Nelson will ever allow him to call him something like pretty or beautiful or anything that puts even the tiniest fragments of his masculinity into question, but with his hair still damp from the rain and slowly drying in a mess of curls and waves, eyes bright in the lantern light, and his shirt bunched up to his armpits revealing a lean, smooth torso, Gavin is certainly allowed to <i>think</i> those things about the young man below him."</p><p>My body is a vessel for a being of pure sin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tent walls are probably not soundproof

Gavin doubts Nelson will ever allow him to call him something like pretty or beautiful or anything that puts even the tiniest fragments of his masculinity into question, but with his hair still damp from the rain and slowly drying in a mess of curls and waves, eyes bright in the lantern light, and his shirt bunched up to his armpits revealing a lean, smooth torso, Gavin is certainly allowed to _think_ those things about the young man below him.

-

This camping trip, a horrible, botched mess Gavin is only tolerating because he’s putting in some serious time into winning favors from the CIO, has proven to be _interesting_ if not mildly entertaining.

The night before Nelson appeared, soaked to the bone and desperate for warmth, and who is Gavin but a benevolent leader, (Ex-leader, but he’d like to think his influence is still felt even if he isn’t calling the shots anymore.) willing and able to help a fellow man in need. He graciously offered the use of his tent, and went so far as to share his actual body heat with Nelson to ensure his health was not compromised because of the cold conditions outside the tent walls.

And now, in the early hours of the morning, Gavin is surveying the campsite, and grimacing at the mud currently attempting to sink his shoes into the earth. He has to admit, listening to Denpok about not using his glove shoes was a good idea, because while they are a great way to be one with the earth, he’s not sure he wants to be one with this particular portion of the planet if it’s going to be this disgusting the entire time he’s standing here.

From the looks of things, Nelson’s tent is the only one to fail outright, but a couple of the other department heads are going to regret leaving their shoes outside overnight. Gavin walks over to the campfire circle where that HR guy is attempting to light a fire, but even an idiot can see the wood is all soaked.

“That isn’t going to work, unless you think _water_ has been the secret to a successful bonfire all these years, then by all means waste everyone’s time.”

“Oh, Gavin,” he straightens, whoever ‘he’ actually is, Gavin hasn’t bothered to learn his name, and he’s not admitting that now, “someone’s going to have to go into town for food. Everything is too wet.”

“You better get on that then.” ‘He’ nods. “And, while you’re there, N- Mr. Bighetti’s tent collapsed. Might want to do something about that.”

“I don’t think they have camping equipment there.”

Gavin isn’t looking for an excuse. “Do you think you can manage a pair of _shoes_ or is that too difficult to figure out?”

“Shoes?”

“He might’ve walked through the river, probably to gain some mental clarity,” he’s not sure why he still talks Nelson up to others, but it sounds good to think the company’s CIO is trying to keep a clear headspace about things. “But his shoes are completely fucked, totally unusable.”

“I’ll do my best,” ‘that guy’ shouts, completely unnecessary Gavin is right here, but he does start walking towards the vehicles, so at least _something_ is being done about Nelson’s current lack of dress.

Gavin is all the way back to his tent and, after carefully removing his muddy shoes, he climbs back inside and finds Nelson upright and bundled up in the sleeping bag.

Fuck.

It isn’t that Gavin forgot, he was well aware Nelson’s pants were caught in the crossfire during the rain last night, but he may have neglected to mention that to the HR guy, and from the sound of things (A vehicle starting up and pulling away.) it’s already too late to do anything about it.

“Have your clothes dried yet?”

“Dunno, just woke up,” Nelson flops over, dragging the sleeping bag with him, (No it’s _fine_ Gavin wasn’t planning on crawling back inside or anything, by all means use it as a blanket.) and the moment he touches his jeans he grimaces. “Completely soaked still.”

“Perfect, motherfuck,” Gavin takes a few calming breaths and watches Nelson as he settles into the center of the foam mattress, “and you don’t have any spare clothes?”

“Dropped my backpack on the way over,” he gestures over one shoulder at the clothes currently strewn across one end of the tent, “and nothing’s dry. Kinda smells too.”

Even though most of the department heads escape Gavin he can certainly remember the general body types he sees on a weekly basis, and Nelson is by far the smallest of anyone here. “I doubt anyone will have something you won’t drown in, but since I have clothes on right now I’ll check.”

At the rate Gavin is going Nelson will owe him a life-debt. He traipses through the campground for _at least_ ten minutes, banging on the outsides of tents and demanding the rest of the department heads chip in an article of clothing or two. It’s less successful than he hoped. As it turns out, almost no one brought extra clothing, citing the lack of showers at the site and not wanting to dirty multiple sets of clothes, so the best Gavin comes up with is a thin blanket and a thing of Twizzlers.

Nelson is wholly uninterested in switching to a thinner blanket, not that Gavin really blames him but he can at least _pretend_ to be grateful, but Nelson is rather enthusiastic about the Twizzlers.

“Thanks man, you have no idea how hungry I was,” he says as he shoves an entire (Gavin’s not sure what the unit of a single Twizzler is other than this long red thing that smells horrendously artificial) whatever it is into his mouth.

“It seems most people followed along with my philosophy of, don’t bother changing when you don’t bathe, so no one has any spare clothing.”

Honestly he’s mildly surprised Nelson brought a spare set of clothes, but maybe if everyone had followed their CIO’s lead then he wouldn’t be stranded in Gavin’s tent.

“That guy in HR should be back with some food that doesn’t need heated, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”

In about an hour, Gavin is pleasantly surprised to find boxes of cereal for everyone to share, but immediately disappointed when none of the bags contain a pair of shoes for Nelson. He squirrels away one of the boxes of cereal for him. It’s not very professional to have the company CIO running around in his underwear, no doubt something Nelson would have done immediately if he knows there is food.

Nelson has managed to fall back asleep based on the snoring Gavin can hear _outside the tent_ , but the minute he’s inside Nelson stirs and hones in on the box of food Gavin is holding. He manages a whine and hands reaching for the food much like Gavin’s nieces did when they were four. This is his fearless leader. Gavin rolls his eyes and hands over the cereal, which Nelson tears into with no regard for the cleanliness of the- Gavin’s sleeping bag.

And the day continues on in a similar manner, sometime around lunch Gavin, out of the kindness of his heart, brings Nelson some food and water. And somehow, again, Nelson has fallen asleep in the short amount of time it took Gavin to go over to the campfire circle and return to the tent.

He’s not at all sure what he’s supposed to do with this.

The temperature peaks at around fifty degrees, still dreadful to be out in when not wearing pants, although once Gavin offered to divert attention away from the tents to Nelson could leave long enough to use the restroom. He managed to convince Nelson to put on his pants before leaving, making the diversion obsolete, but still appreciated, and once he returns, since he’s already out in the open, Nelson agrees to mingle for about ten minutes.

The ten minutes turn into about twenty, and Nelson seems to be enjoying himself despite his damp clothing, but the universe has other plans for Nelson in the form of another bout of rain. Everyone retreats to the relative warmth of their tents, or in Nelson’s case, the horrid cold brought on by being stuck in a damp tee shirt and underwear.

He _is not_ going to tell Nelson to remove his shirt. Gavin might be thinking it strongly, all for the health and well-being of his boss, but it’s not professional.

The second half of day two has a hike scheduled, something Gavin was actually looking forward to, mainly for the lookout tower at the edge of the trail, but he has a dilemma. “Nelson, did you remember the hike scheduled for today?”

“Oh, kinda? I sort of but not, like, one hundred percent forgot about it. I’ll be okay here, if you were planning on going.”

“Right, of course.” Nelson is in no condition to follow along on a hike. His hair somehow manages to hold onto any moisture it’s given, and what little bit it did manage to dry has become wet again from the rain early in the afternoon. He’ll just let Nelson use his tent while they’re gone on the hike.

Half an hour later Gavin finds himself declining the invitation to join the rest of the group on the hike.

“The temperature could drop, and the humidity is too damn thick to let anything dry.”

HR man nods, “of course. We’ll be back around sundown.”

And when he climbs back into the tent Nelson looks up at him with his gigantic pitiful eyes and a guilty crease on his brow. “You don’t have to stay, I’ll be alright.”

He actually feels bad about making Gavin stay. Forget a life-debt, Nelson’s going to end up _worshiping_ him after this trip.

“If the CIO of one of the leading tech companies in Palo Alto were to end up with hypothermia because no one bothered to make sure he stayed warm during a botched camping trip everyone here would catch a fuckton of hell from just about every source of media in existence.” Nelson doesn’t look like that answer helped him feel any better. “And it’s a horrendous mud pit out there. Being in here is preferable.”

“Okay,” he smiles briefly and pulls the sleeping bag tighter around his shoulders. “Could you help me get warmed up again though?”

And there’s that hopeful look again. No demands, no bartering, just a simple request for Gavin to join him in a sleeping bag and warm him up. Nelson shivers when the wind outside blows at the tent walls; no cold air got in, but Nelson hasn’t looked like he’s feeling warm and comfortable since this morning.

Gavin sighs, sounding put out but still willingly sitting beside Nelson and allowing him to rest against his side with the bag pulled around the both of them. He can feel the chill still clinging to Nelson’s arms, and after a full body shiver Nelson settles as Gavin feels his body heat getting sapped away.

“I _thought_ we would be sharing body heat, but I suppose you would need some amount of heat in the first place if that were to happen.” Perhaps Nelson is cold-blooded. He has been doing a lot of sleeping today. Nelson looks up, a single damp curl has fallen over his forehead, right between those damn brown eyes of his; eyes that are looking far too guilty again. “Don’t look so upset about it, _I’m fine_.”

“You’re sure?”

For fuck’s sake. “If I wasn’t, do you honestly think I’d be here?”

That seems to satisfy Nelson for the time being, enough so that he starts trying to fall asleep on Gavin. He’s a lot of things, entrepreneur, innovator, mentor, but he is _not_ a mattress. “If you’re planning on falling asleep at least have the common sense to lie down instead of doing it on _me_.”

“Sorry,” he sits up, and a little bit of their connection is severed, leaving Gavin’s side a couple degrees cooler than it was. He frowns, but Nelson continues on, “I don’t _want_ to sleep, but when I’m comfortable it just kind of happens.”

“This mattress and sleeping bag are both some of the best on the market. It’s understandable.”

“Yeah, mattress,” Nelson yawns. Gavin expected something a lot less high pitched, but Nelson’s yawn reminds him of a small animal, maybe a kitten. His eyes are only half open when he’s done. “Thanks, again, for helping me out.”

Gavin wouldn’t go so far as saying he would prefer this to the normal activities one does on a camping trip, but it has certainly not been an unpleasant experience.

“I’m afraid of saying ‘any time’ because I’d rather you don’t end up stranded without suitable clothing on a regular basis, but I suppose if the circumstances came up again, I wouldn’t be horribly upset.”

And he’s perfectly content to stay like this, but the odd angle Nelson is attempting to remain close to Gavin physically is beginning to put some strain on his lower back, and it’s just poor judgement to stay in a position like that when he could just lie down on a comfortable mattress and still keep Nelson warm, so Gavin quietly coaxes Nelson to move just long enough so he can spread out the sleeping bag and they can resume their close physical contact, for warmth purposes of course.

“My hands are cold,” Nelson comments, and Gavin’s immediate instinct is to grab them in his hands and hold them. Nelson’s feet, which are ice cold even through Gavin’s pants, make themselves at home against Gavin’s shins.

“How the hell do you stay this cold for this long? You aren’t even _outside_.”

“Always have,” Nelson leans forward enough to rest his nose, which is also ice cold, against Gavin’s hands. “Can’t hold heat for shit.”

When they get back to Hooli Gavin is going to suggest someone look into a cordless heated blanket in case this happens again and he isn’t around to help Nelson get warmed up.

“So, everyone else went on the hike?”

“That guy from HR-”

“Gary.”

“ _He_ gave some sort of asinine motivational speech about how hiking will warm everyone up, so, yes, everyone else is on the hike.”

Nelson lifts his face up far enough to look at Gavin. “Kinda dark in here.”

“It’s an opaque tent,” Gavin explains as he reaches over to his lantern. He moves it to the small stand so it lights up the tent better. “The sun won’t be down for a couple hours.”

Nelson doesn’t answer; in fact he looks more interested at looking at Gavin’s hands than holding a proper conversation. Gavin considers informing Nelson rudeness is meant for conference rooms when his underlings are being fucking morons, not when they’re _literally_ saving his life, but Nelson’s eyes trail up until he’s looking at Gavin’s face through his lashes, which have dried but are still thick and, if he’s being unbiased in his opinion, rather pretty.

Or maybe it’s his eyes that are pretty, and the lashes just add a little extra.

Nelson releases Gavin’s hands, and Gavin gets a brief feeling of disappointment, but a hand on his face changes that to surprise, and Nelson’s lips on his are just downright shocking.

Alright, obviously some wires got crossed, Gavin’s aware that he is an admirable specimen, even at his age, but he is in no way condoning these actions. Even if Nelson is attractive, and has pretty eyes with full lashes, and certainly is his type. He’ll just gently push Nelson away, no harm in being kind. Gavin places a hand on Nelson’s waist, intending on guiding Nelson to lie on his back. His hand slips underneath the shirt fabric and Nelson pulls him along.

Fuck.

No, he is going to reject him, plain and simple. Gavin breaks the kiss (They were still kissing? He should stop that. Possibly.) and leans up so he can see Nelson properly.

Gavin doubts Nelson will ever allow him to call him something like pretty or beautiful or anything that puts even the tiniest fragments of his masculinity into question, but with his hair still damp from the rain and slowly drying in a mess of curls and waves, eyes bright in the lantern light, and his shirt bunched up to his armpits revealing a lean, smooth torso, Gavin is certainly allowed to _think_ those things about the young man below him.

Gavin leans down and kisses him again.

This is not the well articulated, but fair and kind, rejection he was just planning.

Nelson’s movements are very timid. His hands grip Gavin’s vest, and he makes no move to unzip until Gavin starts it himself. And then when he touches Gavin’s shirt, a simple crew-neck, but the fabric is soft and warm, he actually makes Gavin stop long enough to nod. It’s rather endearing, as if Nelson’s actions would be too rash for Gavin to handle.

But Nelson’s hands are fucking _ice_ on his sides, not sexy, not even close. He perseveres through, and soon enough ice turns to a slight chill, and as Gavin moves to Nelson’s neck he can feel the flush heating Nelson’s cheeks. If idle Nelson is freezing, then active, aroused Nelson is definitely a furnace, but it’s slow, and even once Nelson’s hands are warmed, his feet remain chilly against Gavin’s legs.

“Don’t give me a hickey.” Gavin lifts his head. He has never given anyone a hickey, full stop.

“Just how old do you think I am?”

Nelson shrugs, “I dunno, like, forty?”

It’s not _that_ much younger than Gavin’s actual age but he is not going to deny himself the feeling of pride that Nelson thinks he’s forty. Obviously he takes good care of his body, but confirmation is always welcome.

“Do you honestly think _I_ would give you a hickey in the first place, and secondly that I would be careless enough to put it on your _neck_?”

“I dunno, I panicked a little.” Nelson bends one leg up and rests his knee on Gavin’s side. “I’m good now. Promise.”

This little pause would’ve been the perfect time to tell Nelson, again in a kind way, that they shouldn’t be doing this, but instead Gavin finds his hand making its way into Nelson’s underwear, and really, he’s Gavin Belson. Why would he start denying himself something he wants?

He kisses Nelson’s neck again, for all the flack he got about hickeys Nelson certainly sounds like he enjoys this, and as he eases the back of Nelson’s underwear down and makes the first move to start inching lower, he’s jarred when Nelson asks, “how old do you think I am?”

“You’re asking this _now_?” _Gavin’s hand is on Nelson’s ass_ and he’s trying to small talk. Nelson shrugs and crosses his arms over his bare chest. “Nelson, I already know you’re in your late twenties,” he hasn’t given countless endorsements and speeches about their new young hot shot CIO for nothing, “but if you’re asking how old you look, I’d go with early twenties.” Gavin’s not really sure why that particular news would be upsetting, but based on Nelson’s face (The little downturn of his mouth, the crease in his brow, and he can’t catch a break because Nelson’s eyes look gigantic when he’s upset.) that wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “Capitalize on that Nelson, embrace it, and when you reveal as the ruthless, business savvy CIO you are it’ll shock the entire tech community.”

“Because I look like a kid.”

Jesus he didn’t sign up for a pep talk today. How is Nelson still this self-conscious? Has he not realized what they’re doing right now? Gavin doesn’t have sex with just any old nobody. But if he doesn’t intervene he’s not going to have sex now, which is a piss-poor option in any situation. He’s praised Nelson before, he can do it again. “It’s because you look _kind_ , Nelson. You’re not from the same mold as the other assholes in Silicon Valley. It’s a good thing, trust me.”

And he’s pretty, a rare CIO trait.

“Okay,” Nelson uncrosses his arms and props up his other leg. Fuck, Gavin’s still mostly clothed, but Nelson’s been practically naked since before this even started. Not that he’s complaining.

Gavin repositions so he’s hovering above Nelson’s hip, and Nelson blushes almost as red as his underwear. _This_ is the part that embarrasses him. Somehow Gavin isn’t all that surprised. “You’re awful red, Nelson.”

“Shut up,” he mumbles and covers his face with his hands.

“You don’t have to _force_ yourself. I’m not a delicate fucking flower.” And even if he’ll feel slighted, Gavin’s dealt with rejection before.

“I’m not, it’s just… watching it just kind of weird.”

It’s a little disappointing. While Nelson is slender and small, he is still very pleasant to look at, but Gavin is willing to compromise for now. He makes a mental note to complement Nelson’s appearance more often and maybe this won’t be an issue next time.

“You can always turn off the lantern,” Gavin suggests. He watches Nelson turn onto his side and stretch to reach the lantern without getting up, and Nelson gives him a lovely view of his back and the portion of his ass no longer covered by his underwear. Gavin takes a couple calming breaths and reaches for his overnight bag before Nelson turns off the light.

He’s met with another disappointment. His bag still has the lube, but no condoms. He’s going to need some time in his meditation room to discern what series of events led to this horrendous oversight.

With the lantern off the tent isn’t completely dark, but most of the light outside is blocked, something Nelson appears to be pleased with if the disappearance of his underwear is any indication. “I take it you’d like to continue.”

“Are you joking? You’re joking.” Gavin makes a point of not answering, and when Nelson groans out a ‘yes’ he laughs quietly. “I can always change my mind you know.”

“Of course,” he kisses the inside of Nelson’s knee, “but I doubt you’ll do that.”

“Oh my God,” Nelson starts laughing.

“What?”

“I can’t believe you said that; it’s so cheesy dude,” Nelson continues laughing, and Gavin uses the distraction to guide Nelson’s legs to keep Nelson comfortable while still allowing Gavin to prepare him properly. Nelson’s laugh settles to a few amused chuckles, and then a hum when Gavin slowly inserts a single lubed finger.

“You’re comfortable?” Nelson nods, Gavin adds, “have you done this?”

Again, a nod. Good. He doesn’t have to worry so much about Nelson being nervous.

Typically, Nelson is rather quiet in the office, so it’s quite a surprise when not only does Nelson moan, he does so very audibly. Gavin is aware that he’s well versed, but he’s not so keen on the entire rest of the campsite finding out once they’re back from their hike.

“Nelson, do you know how tent walls work?”

He really wishes he could see the look on Nelson’s face more clearly, but he has a fairly good idea based on his startled response of, “you’re asking me that _now_? And you thought _I_ was weird for asking about my age!?”

“Perhaps it’s not my most well timed question, but still pertinent,” Nelson groans, “if you’re not going to answer I’ll elaborate for fuck’s sake have some patience. Tent walls are made of fucking fabric, which means people can _hear_ you. Understand?”

“So I should try to be quiet?”

“What do _you_ think?”

Nelson doesn’t reply. He does, however, start pulling at Gavin’s vest, an odd request but Gavin sits up long enough to pull it off, and Nelson balls it up and shoves it over his face. Well, he did tell Nelson to be quiet.

While they’re still in a lull Gavin decides now is as decent a time as any to inform Nelson about the unfortunate limitations for their evening. “Nelson, while it’s completely out of character and, frankly, rather suspect, it’s come to my attention that I don’t have any condoms.”

“I don’t have any either,” Nelson sighs. “Haven’t needed them for like, four years now.”

Gavin can pinpoint a fair number of times in his life where he can relate to Nelson’s plight, including this most recent stint of celibacy, one he’s not eager to admit has lasted _longer_ than Nelson’s apparent lack of a sex life.

“We could dig through someone else’s stuff?”

Gavin really wishes Nelson could see his look of disapproval, but he can’t, so Gavin hopes his tone is sufficient. “I highly doubt any of the other department heads would even _think_ to bring condoms camping, and honestly, do you actually think I want to go digging around in their fucking bags? Because you’re certainly not going anywhere in this state.”

And while Nelson’s in ‘this state’ Gavin doesn’t really want him wandering off when he can have him all to himself.

“I don’t know if I’ll last that long anyway,” Nelson adds. Gavin grew out of that stage of life a while ago, but Nelson is still fairly young. And four years (Or five if Gavin’s personal count is accurate.) is a long time for anyone. Completely forgivable. And if Gavin is being honest with himself, he doubts Nelson would last even if he was currently sexually active.

Nelson reaches out to Gavin with the same enthusiasm he has for breakfast cereals, fingers flexing until Gavin (Not without an eye roll.) agrees to move back up so Nelson can kiss him. He trails a hand down over Nelson’s chest and to his hip, and using his other hand to find the lube without having to stop or turn on the lantern.

Being the skilled multitasker he is, Gavin lubes and inserts a finger without breaking contact with Nelson, which he finds to be a blessing because Nelson lets another moan slip. Nelson pushes his face against Gavin’s shoulder; his legs twitch every time Gavin brushes against his prostate.

He wasn’t kidding when he told Gavin he wouldn’t last.

Nelson finishes, and his legs immediately flop down, boneless and still a little twitchy. He turns towards Gavin, obviously intent on reciprocation, which Gavin appreciates, but he has one pair of pants here, and he does not need any sort of come stain on them when the only options are 1) he slept with the CIO, or 2) he is terrible at masturbating. He moves off the mattress long enough to find the thin blanket and hand it to Nelson to use as a towel.

Briefly he’s a tad worried Nelson is going to fall asleep on him, but a clumsy hand trying to undo his pants says otherwise. Still, Nelson is sluggish and drowsy; Gavin rubs his back as he lazily undoes the front of Gavin’s pants and pulls down the front of his underwear.

And then he just lies there on top of Gavin; he’s nearly certain he can hear snoring.

“Nelson,” his head pops up and he looks around. “Honestly?”

“Oh, hey.” ‘Oh hey’ he says. No, no rush, he’s not lying here aroused and far from flaccid or anything. “ _Oh_ , right.”

Nelson’s damn lucky he’s so attractive.

The irritation Gavin felt is quickly replaced when he learns Nelson is rather enthusiastic with his mouth. He places a hand on Nelson’s hair, just a light touch, and runs his fingers through Nelson’s curls.

He clearly would have lasted longer if he’d wanted, but with the group’s return imminent and Nelson’s energy clearly waning as time goes on, there’s really no point in trying to make things last. Nelson sits up, breathing fast, and uses his hands to finish Gavin off.

Belatedly, far too late to do anything now, he realizes nothing was actually done to protect his shirt from any sort of stains, but he still has his vest, and the weather should remain cold, so he can leave it zipped until they return to civilization.

Nelson apparently has no qualms about his shirt and flops forward so he’s lying on top of Gavin again. Gavin takes a moment to pull his underwear back into place zip his pants before pulling the top of the sleeping bag over the both of them.

Gavin reaches over and turns on the lantern, (Despite what Nelson may think it’s far too early to be asleep right now.) and immediately Nelson whines and tries to burrow under the sleeping bag or in Gavin’s shirt or some strange combination of the two.

“Nelson,” he hums against Gavin’s arm, sounding a bit irritated but otherwise unharmed by the ‘harsh light’ from the lantern, “I’m sure you’re aware that if word was to spread about our little-”

“Fucking?”

Not quite the word Gavin had in mind, but it’s not a lie. “Yes, _that_ , and discretion is important, otherwise it’s our _jobs_ that are going to be fucked.”

“Are you always this cheesy?”

“I’d like to think it’s charming, not _cheesy_.” Nelson looks up long enough to smirk before hiding his face again. “I’m not staying in bed this early. When the others get back I’m leaving the tent. For appearances. They’re going to come sticking their fucking noses in here if I don’t go be social for at least an hour.”

He expects some level of protest from Nelson, or maybe a demand for a s’more or something else people usually eat when they’re camping. Instead he just hears a snore; Nelson is already asleep. Briefly, Gavin considers staying, Nelson will get cold if he leaves after all, but he really does need to keep their appearances up for now. He pushes some of Nelson’s hair away from his face, kisses his forehead once, and extracts himself from the sleeping bag and Nelson’s firm, but not altogether unwelcome, grip.


End file.
